Tools

Nokia Announces Finalists in Developer Competition

, August 19, 2009

Finalists chosen from more than 1,700 submissions from developers in 85 countries

Forum Nokia Developer Community has announced the finalists in its 2009 Calling All Innovators programming contest, a global mobile developer competition designed to generate applications and solutions that enhance the use of Nokia mobile devices in real-world scenarios. More than 1,700 submissions were received from developers in 85 countries.

"The quantity and quality of the applications we received are astounding," said Purnima Kochikar, vice president, Forum Nokia Developer Community, Nokia. "Turning the spotlight on our developers in marketing efforts like Calling All Innovators is just one way we can expose the best mobile applications from our developer community to consumers around the world."

Finalists in the 2009 Calling All Innovators contest include:

Internet Innovation. Developers were asked to submit either web applications known as Web Runtime widgets, or websites which are optimized for mobile browsing with Nokia devices.

Pixelpipe for Share Online. This WRT widget application from Pixelpipe, enables individuals to create and configure Nokia Share Online to use the Pixelpipe Media Gateway to distribute photos, video, audio and files to more than 90 popular social networking, photo/video, and blog services directly from the built-in phone gallery and camera applications.

Dianping. This widget for one of the top websites in China provides information about more than 275,000 restaurants, including descriptions, recommended dishes, address, phone number, price range and more. Individuals can search for restaurants by districts, categories, price range and key words. The application includes access to more than 7.5 million restaurant reviews, and coupons for restaurants, too.

Tech Buzz Homescreen Widget. The Tech Buzz Widget from UK-based Mippin, provides access the latest tech news anywhere on Nokia mobile devices. It regularly downloads tech stories from across the web, displaying the headlines and images in rotation on the Nokia N97 home screen, to give users immediate access.

Flash. Developers were asked to submit applications that expand the capabilities of Adobe Flash Lite on Nokia devices.

FLORIN: Personal Finance Tracker. With the FLORIN flash-based application from UK-based BlueskyNorth, consumers have access to a highly capable, but easy to use personal finance tracker for use on Nokia Series 60 5th Edition devices.

ActiveChinese. This mobile educational application, from the company of the same name, is comprised of 10 flash-animated lessons for English speakers to begin to learn how to speak Chinese. A series of built-in flashcards provides the most useful word and phrases, and includes: the Chinese character, Chinese pronunciation, PinYin, and the English translation.

Emerging Markets and Mobile Necessities. Developers were asked to submit applications or solutions that are the most innovative application using Nokia platforms, ranging from SMS through Series 40 and S60 device platforms. All applications would be evaluated, including those developed using Java, Python or open source.

Mobile JobHunt. Inspired by Nokia Life Tools in India, Mobile JobHunt from LEG aims to help people in rural areas in China. JobHunt provides timely and accurate job information from major cities on Series 40 Nokia phones. Other related services include employment news, skills training, employment legal rights, and entertainment.

Blue Home. Created by Binu Johnson in India, Blue-Home installed on a Nokia S60 mobile device, and hardware in the home that can be purchased for approximately $30, an individual can monitor and operate six home appliances via Bluetooth in the mobile device.

Apps on Maps. Developers were asked to submit new ideas that harness the power of location-aware services using Ovi Maps on Nokia devices. From all of the ideas submitted, 14 developers were given exclusive access to the Ovi Beta SDK to turn their ideas into a completed application for use on Nokia devices.

PocketLife. As a location-based lifestyle app, with Pocket Life for Ovi Maps on your Nokia device, individuals can always be in touch with their closest friends, down to knowing precisely where they are at that given time. Using Pocket Life, individuals can discover new places, share photos, and quickly know their way around like a local.

Ground Guidance. How do you navigate when there are no roads? Ground Guidance with Ovi Maps solves this problem. With technology originally built for the U.S. Army, St. Paul, Minnesota-based Primordial uses an innovative, patented technique, combined with a wide range of data sources to create a walk-able route where no road data exists. Pick any two points in the app, and the user will be presented with a walk-able path to take.

Smart EggsCrack open a Smart Egg to get a multimedia review of the latest movie, or tips about special promotions from nearby shops. Engage in a mobile treasure hunt with your friends, collecting codes inside Premium Smart Eggs. This mobile app for brands, artists, and venues interacts with consumers at the local level, while promoting the use of multiple Nokia services and platforms, including Ovi Maps and more.

The total cash and prizes for the 2009 Calling All Innovators contest are worth more than $250,000. The top three submissions in each category will receive a cash award, and prizes that include premium placement featuring the winning application in Nokia's Ovi Store, and the opportunity to demo their winning apps at Nokia World. The winners in the Internet Innovation, Flash, and Emerging Markets and Mobile Necessities categories will be announced on September 1, in the evening prior to Nokia World 2009 in Stuttgart, Germany at an awards ceremony being held at the Porsche Museum. The Apps on Maps winners will be announced on September 3, during Nokia World. In the Flash category, there is an additional prize of $10,000 USD for one application that also received funds from the Open Screen Project Fund.

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